Freshmen Spotlight: Elle Niebuhr & Nathan Kim

QUICK SPRINTS

Elle Niebuhr

Expected Major: Finance
Favorite Music Artist: Kygo
Favorite Place You've Visited: Paris
French Toast, Pancakes, or Waffles: Waffles
Favorite Book: The Stranger by Albert Camus
Go-To Karaoke Song: Baby by Justin Bieber
Favorite TV Series: New Girl
Favorite Race to Swim: 200 Fly
Scale of 1-10, How Good of a Dancer are You: 11/10
Favorite Restaurant: Boludo
Qdoba or Chipotle: Chipotle
Favorite Animal: Manatee
Netflix or Hulu: Netflix
Ideal Superpower: Invisibility

Nathan Kim

Expected Major: Undecided
Favorite Book: The Hobbit
French Toast, Pancakes, or Waffles: Pancakes
Favorite Restaurant: Kbop Korean Bistro
Favorite Place You've Visited: Maui, Hawai'i
Netflix or Hulu: Netflix
Favorite Race to Swim: 200 IM
Go-To Karaoke Song: Ice Ice Baby
Favorite Music Artist: Travis Scott
Game Show You'd be Best at: Wheel of Fortune
Favorite Superhero: Black Panther
Qdoba or Chipotle: Chipotle
Favorite Video Game: Clash of Clans
Ideal Superpower: Water Powers

With 26 incoming swimmers and divers eagerly awaiting their collegiate debuts, there are plenty of new faces to Minnesota's historic program. In an effort to better get to know these incoming student-athletes, Gopher Sports sat down with each to learn more about them prior to the kick-off of the 2020-21 season.

Featured this week are newcomers and Midwest natives, Elle Niebuhr and Nathan Kim. Niebuhr, a four-time MSHSL All-State honoree, competed for both the Edina Swim Club and Minneapolis Southwest H.S. before coming to the 'U'. The Minneapolis, Minn. native made great work of her time at the high school level, securing four Minneapolis City Conference records as well as six team records. Now, after posting a fourth place finish in the 200 fly at the 2020 Minnesota Senior State Championships, Niebuhr is excited to see where her time with the Gophers can take her.

A former member of the 2020 WIAA Division I State Champion Middleton H.S. swim team, Kim comes to Minnesota prepped for success, having already secured All-American bids in numerous events over his career. His four top-four finishes in the 100 butterfly, 200 IM, 200 medley relay and 400 free relay at the 2020 State Championships help boost his high school to it's first team title in school history, and the Middleton, Wis. native plans to carry all of that energy forward to his new family here at Minnesota.

GopherSports: Why did you choose Minnesota?
Niebuhr: "I grew up around die hard Gopher fans, so I've always known I've wanted to come here. When I became more serious about swimming and realized that swimming in college was a possibility for me is when I really decided that it was going to be home for me. Talking to the coaches and the team just solidified that this was a family that I wanted to be a part of."

Kim: "At first, I wanted to come here just because I liked the team, but then I also realized how many more opportunities there were after that. I just felt like Minnesota had all of the right things to offer with helping me improve my swimming but also setting up a lot of job opportunities afterwards as well."

GS: When did you first start swimming, and how did you get started?
Niebuhr: "I was thrown into swim lessons when I was a baby, but I didn't get into an actual swim team until I was seven years old. I had finished all the levels of swim lessons, and my instructor told my parents, they had nothing left to teach me and if I wanted to do more, they would need to put me on a team. Then, maybe a few months later, I got a flyer for Edina Swim Club, so I signed up and I fell in love with it."

Kim: "I started swimming when I was five or six just by taking lessons at a YMCA, and my instructor told me I should join a swim team, so I've been swimming competitively since I was seven. I moved around quite a bit when I was younger, but I had been with Badger Aquatics for most of my career."

GS: Who has been your biggest influence/inspiration throughout your career?
Niebuhr: "Probably Jeff Rodriguez, my club coach, and Chris Aarseth, my high school coach. They both took big chunks of their time to focus on me personally and helped develop me as both the swimmer and person I am today. Their leadership and them showing me the grit it takes to get where you want to be has definitely shaped who I am today, no question."

Kim: "Since I've moved around a lot, I've had a lot of different coaches, who have all been really great. I would say through it all, my parents have been my biggest supporters though. They have given everything that I needed to succeed at swimming, and they have always been the ones that are there. My mom is an alum here too, so she was pretty excited when I chose Minnesota."

GS: What is your most memorable moment of your swimming career?
Niebuhr: "Getting my first NCSA Junior Nationals cut my freshman year of high school. We were at a Speedo Sectional Meet in Iowa. It was in the 200 free, and I didn't even know I had got it until I walked up to my coach afterwards. He handed me the national team cap and said, "Congrats, you're on the National Team." That's definitely something that has stuck with me."

Kim: "Winning State with my team my senior year, for sure. In general, I had the best experience with high school swimming because I realized how much of a team sport it could be, but it definitely came down to my team winning State my senior year for the first time in school history. We finished as the runner-ups my sophomore and junior years, so finally winning it in my last season was the best feeling possible."

GS: What is something out of the water you think you are elite at?
Niebuhr: "Lighthearted dance competitions. On my high school team, my friend and I would always have a little dance competition before dual meets, and it always got a big laugh out of everyone on the team. We would just kind of make fools of ourselves, and that was really fun. So a lighthearted dance competition is definitely something I think I could win at."

Kim: "Fishing is something I consider myself elite at. I don't mean to sound cocky, but that's one thing I enjoy and one thing I can say I'm definitely not bad at."

GS: How has the transition from high school to college been treating you thus far, and what has been the biggest change you have noticed?
Niebuhr: "Having online school during a pandemic has been difficult. I've always been a hands on learner, and that's a lot more difficult in a Zoom or just watching your asynchronous lecture. So, that's been difficult, but the staff and the tutors here have all been incredibly helpful in making the transition as smooth as possible. The biggest change I've noticed has been the practices. Every single practice has been a challenge for me, whereas in club, there were some practices that were a little bit easier sometimes. Now, I feel like I'm just trying to always prove myself and stay with the older swimmers. I'm really excited to see it all pay off though."

Kim: "Even with everything going on, I think we have all had a relatively good experience. The training is definitely a lot harder and school is a lot harder, so the biggest thing that I have to do now is nap between practices. School and swimming being much harder isn't a bad thing though. The biggest change I've noticed has been just the intensity at the practices. I really enjoy the practices that you want to get up and go fast because everyone around you is giving the same effort. It's nice to be around that."

GS: Being a Gopher is about more than just scoring points in the pool. What is a quality you have brought to Minnesota that you think will bolster this Gopher culture?
Niebuhr: "I would definitely say my enthusiasm and energy. On both my high school and club teams, I was always leading cheers, getting everybody up off the bleachers and cheering for everybody's race. I'm a firm believer that when everyone around you has a positive energy, is enthusiastic and wants to race and get better, that just radiates throughout the team and everybody does better. I always want to be a person that can add to that positive energy and help everyone do better."

Kim: "I'm pretty competitive and I love to bring that energy to practices. Ever since I've been there, I love racing with my other teammates, and I think it just helps us push each other even more. I definitely bring a competitive aspect to practices."

GS: What is something you are looking forward to in your time as a Gopher?
Niebuhr: "Definitely just continuing to get better. I like being an underdog; working with a chip on my shoulder and knowing that I have someone ahead of me to race and catch up to. So I'm looking forward to keeping my head down and working hard, and then blowing people away with my hard work and dedication."

Kim: "I'm looking forward to growing with my freshman class, especially. We've all already gotten really close and we're all hopefully going to be here for all four years. I'm just excited to see how far we can go and how much better we can all get together."

GS: Outside of training, how do you mentally prepare for meets?
Niebuhr: "Well, I really like to listen to music and get hyped, but also I'm kind of superstitious. Before meets, my dad always makes me a strawberry smoothie and an egg sandwich, so I always have to eat that before I go to warm-ups. That's something I always think that boosts me."

Kim: "I usually just try to relax as much as I can. I can get pretty stressed out about my races, so I just try to stick with music and relaxing. The thing I like doing best is just talking with my buddies around me. Just having fun with the people around me."

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Players Mentioned

Nathan Kim

Elle Niebuhr